CONTROVERSIAL STUDY SUGGESTS LINK BETWEEN 5G TECHNOLOGY AND COVID-19
CONTROVERSIAL STUDY SUGGESTS LINK BETWEEN 5G TECHNOLOGY AND COVID-19
A recent study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) claims that wireless communication radiation (WCR) from 5G technology could be contributing to the severity of COVID-19 cases. The study is stirring up a new debate, suggesting that exposure to the high-frequency radiation from 5G, which is being rapidly deployed worldwide, may be exacerbating the symptoms of the virus.
According to the study, 5G technology could be a significant factor in the spread of COVID-19, as cities and states with 5G infrastructure reportedly had significantly higher numbers of COVID-19 cases compared to areas without it. This fifth generation of wireless communications technology uses high-frequency bands and extensive bandwidths of the electromagnetic spectrum, including millimeter waves, which require a significant densification of infrastructure, including base stations and antennas that emit focused pulsed beams of radiation.
The study's authors argue that the potential health effects of WCR need to be considered before the public is potentially harmed. The new 5G infrastructure is expected to dramatically increase exposure to WCR, which has already been recognized as a form of environmental pollution and physiological stressor.
Despite the controversy, this research is likely to reignite the debate over the safety of 5G technology and its potential impact on human health. With the expansive rollout of 5G expected to accelerate in the coming years, more research is needed to determine the risks and benefits of this new technology. As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, any potential contribution of 5G technology to the severity of the disease is sure to be a topic of continued discussion and investigation. To read the NIH study in full, click the link below.
Cities with 5G mmW networks were chosen for analysis because the most frequencies for wireless communications (5G mmW plus low and mid band 5G as well as frequencies from previous generations 1G to 4G) and the highest RF exposures due to the increased number of small cell antennas for 5G and their placement close to users would be present there. Even though urbanization and high density may be part of the criteria for choosing where to locate 5G mmW, and therefore it may seem appropriate to adjust the case and death rate data for urbanization and density, it is actually NOT appropriate to do so for this analysis. The higher the urbanization and density in an area, the higher the levels of RF radiation present because of the higher density of cell phone towers, Wi-Fi hot spots, cell phones and Wi-Fi routers present in highly urbanized or dense areas. To adjust the data for urbanization and density would therefore remove the effect of higher levels of RF radiation present in highly urbanized or dense areas. Therefore, case and death rate data and charts were not adjusted for density or urbanization. However, multi-variate analysis was done to determine if urbanization or density, along with AQI and latitude, were statistically significant factors in the case and death rates using multiple linear regression, and then their contributions relative to the contribution from 5G mmW to the case and death rates were calculated.
Counties and states with mmW 5G service were determined from the websites of the wireless providers AT&T [10], T-Mobile [11], and Verizon [12] which specified the cities that they service with mmW 5G (Table 1). There were no changes in the cities using mmW for 5G between April 22 and May 31, 2020.
The data were analyzed three ways to determine robustness: at the state level, at the county level, and for the largest counties in California.
In this analysis, 32 states were using mmW 5G and 18 states were not. All counties using mmW for 5G were included except for Hampton Roads, VA, because it spanned a combination of 16 counties and cities which made its analysis difficult; so, a total of 53 counties using mmW 5G were used.
COVID-19 Attributed Cases and Deaths are Statistically Higher in States and Counties with 5th Generation Millimeter Wave Wireless Telecommunications in the United States.
